The 4th Annual Congress of the PACTA Foundation in Rome
The 4th Annual Congress of the PACTA Foundation – Pact for the Decarbonization of Air Transport, entitled "Gate to Sustainability – Boarding for Net Zero", was held in Rome, in the Cardinal Colonna Gallery.
The event brought together institutional representatives, companies, airports, academia and finance in a high-level discussion on the strategies needed to guide aviation towards climate neutrality goals.
The opening of the works saw the intervention of Veronica Pamio, Director General of the PACTA Foundation, and the institutional greetings of Pierluigi Di Palma, President of ENAC and of the Institutional Committee of the Foundation. Di Palma underlined how climate neutrality by 2050 requires strong cooperation between the public and private sectors, highlighting the role of air transport as a protagonist of a transformation that is now irreversible.
The Congress focused on the role of new aviation energy, with particular attention to SAF – Sustainable Aviation Fuels, technological innovation and the need for a cohesive supply chain. In the first panel, the Deputy Minister of the Environment Vannia Gava reiterated the value of biofuels for the national ecological transition and the Government's commitment to supporting strategic production and supply chains with investments, simplifications and targeted industrial policies.
Among the key speeches was that of Marco Troncone, President of the PACTA Foundation and CEO of Aeroporti di Roma (Fiumicino and Ciampino), who recalled the importance of coordination between companies, institutions and research to build an effective and competitive path: "The path launched by PACTA in recent years gives the image of a mature sector, capable of creating a system and working in a cohesive way. A sector that positively aims at the first stages of an objectively demanding path. The structured dialogue between companies, institutions and the scientific world has helped to orient the framework of public policies towards concrete, credible solutions consistent with the strategic value of the sector and with the country's competitiveness needs".
From the world of air transport, Francesco Presicce (ITA Airways) recalled the airline's efforts in reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency, while Andrea Di Stefano (Enilive) illustrated the contribution of the energy supply chain in the development of SAF, with three operational biorefineries – two in Italy – and a fourth under construction in Livorno.
The financial front was represented by Simone Basili, Director of the PACTA Foundation, who highlighted how dialogue, investments and sustainable finance tools are essential to accompany the transition of the sector and bring the proposals that emerged to the European institutional levels.
The afternoon continued with panels dedicated to industrial policies, airport infrastructure, intermodality, electrification, digitalisation and new synergies, confirming the Congress as one of the main moments of international discussion on the sustainable future of aviation and as a strategic platform to steer the sector towards Net Zero.
